FOREST VESSELS

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I love walking in the woods and (re)-discovering the mosses and mushrooms that grow there.  I am obsessed with lichen and moss and mushrooms, their textures, their colors, their strange little lives.

The organic shape of scavenged rusty metal is a jumping-off point for vessels that support tiny scenes of the forest floor.  Lately I'm focused on using (and re-using) materials I already have on hand, finding materials otherwise headed for the trash, instead of continuously purchasing new supplies for my artwork.  I am fortunate to have, nearby, both a salvage yard that allows individuals to hunt for treasures, and artist friends who share my interest in searching for raw materials for our artwork.  I also have a large stash of beautiful papers, which I used to use to make handbound books, but which I can no longer make because of the physical limitations of a chronic illness.  I'm constantly looking for ways to incorporate these materials into my new ways of making.

After learning how to both make cordage by hand and to coil baskets with cordage, I began making a series of Forest Vessels, which incorporate rusted bedsprings as a base and utilize leftover papers from my stash.  The organic shapes of the scavenged rusty metal is a jumping-off point for vessels onto which I hand-embroider mosses and sculpt or stitch mushrooms from papers and wire.